Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Dali, Wuwei Temple.

Duan Yu, who has become Master Guanghong, naturally cannot eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha all day long.

Even if he is a monk, he must leave some "merits".

First, he rebuilt the Luohan Hall of Wuwei Temple and summoned craftsmen to chisel 500 stone Luohan. Then he picked up the hammer and chiseled the statues of eminent monks from all dynasties in Wuwei Temple.

"Dangdangdangdang..."

The hammer kept hitting the chisel, chiseling out lines on the stone wall, and Duan Yu's stonemasonry skills became more and more exquisite.

Suddenly, a sound of footsteps came.

Duan Yu put down his hammer and chisel, turned around and looked at the soldiers running towards him: "What do you want to do?"

The leader of the troops was Gao Guanyinlong's son Gao Guanyinmiao. He knelt down and saluted Duan Yu and said: "Your Majesty, I have been ordered to take you back to the city."

Duan Yu said: "My Dharma name is Guanghong, and I am a monk of Wuwei Temple. I should stay in this Wuwei Temple."

Gao Guanyinmiao said: "Your Majesty, Shanchan Prefecture has been captured by the Ming thieves, and Gao Zhenshou's tens of thousands of troops were defeated. Gao Liangcheng collected his remaining troops, but refused to go to Beijing to defend the king, which seems to be a sign of treason. The Ming thieves may attack Dali at any time. The safety of the emperor staying in the mountains is unpredictable, and he should return to Dali City as soon as possible to preserve his body. Moreover, the emperor and Gao Liangcheng had a harmonious relationship back then. Please ask the emperor to personally issue an edict to order Gao Liangcheng to defend the king."

"Shanchan Prefecture was captured?" Duan Yu said in surprise.

"It has been occupied by the Ming thieves for many days." Gao Guanyin Miao said.

Duan Yu asked again: "Gao Zhenshou's remnants were taken by Gao Liangcheng, and you said Gao Liangcheng refused to go to Beijing to defend the king. Who is in power in Dali City now?"

Gao Guanyin Miao said: "Ningguo Duke, Prime Minister Gao Yuchengsheng."

Duan Yu's eyes widened immediately, and his arm trembled as he pointed at Gao Guanyin Miao: "You people, the country is about to be destroyed, but you are still fighting for power!"

Gao Guanyin Miao fell to the ground: "Please ask the emperor to return to the city."

"Please ask the emperor to return to the city!" A large group of soldiers knelt down and surrounded Duan Yu.

Duan Yu wanted to pick up a hammer and knock Gao Guanyin Miao to death with one hammer.

More than 60 years ago, the powerful minister Yang Yizhen usurped the throne and killed Duan Lianyi, the lord of Dali. Gao Zhisheng and Gao Shengtai, father and son, rectified the chaos, destroyed the Yang family's false emperor, welcomed back the Duan family to restore the country and ascend the throne, and took the opportunity to arrange their children and grandchildren to control the states and counties.

Then, Gao Shengtai usurped the throne and changed the country's name to "Great China", calling himself "Emperor Zhengde of Great China".

In order to win local support, Gao Shengtai did not disrupt the jurisdiction of the Gao clan princes, but further confirmed the control of the state capital of the Gao clan.

At that time, the rules were set that Gao Shengtai's descendants would rule western Yunnan for generations, and his younger brother Gao Shengxiang's descendants would rule eastern Yunnan for generations.

If everyone had always abided by the rules, Dali's national politics would not be in chaos.

However, the 37 barbarian tribes broke through Shanchan Prefecture, Gao Shengxiang's descendants suffered heavy casualties, and Gao Shengtai's descendants took the opportunity to suppress the rebellion to cross the border and seize territory.

Including Gao Liangcheng's territory, Weichu Prefecture, was also seized by his father at that time!

Once someone breaks the rules, will no one follow suit?

The fiefdoms that have been demarcated long ago can be seized, will the Gao clan princes not be jealous?

The fiefdom can be seized, can the position of prime minister be seized?

After seizing the position of prime minister, it is more convenient to seize the territory!

For example, Gao Liangcheng and his father not only forcibly seized Weichu Mansion, but also took away Xishuangbanna and Pu'er further south.

Facing a group of soldiers kneeling and shouting, Duan Yu closed his eyes and gave up resistance, and followed them back to Dali City obediently.

The villages along the way were all in a state of decline.

Gao Zhenshou had already recruited soldiers in the capital area once, and Gao Yuchengsheng now forced young and strong men to serve as soldiers, and even collected food to death because of insufficient food and grass.

In various villages, all the young and strong who could escape fled!

The convoy caught up with a team escorting young men, and Duan Yu lifted the curtain and was shocked. Those "strong men" who were captured from nowhere to serve as soldiers were actually mixed with white-haired old men.

Duan Yu suddenly remembered "The Stone-Harrow Officer".

Duan Yu had never led troops to fight, but he knew in his heart that such white-haired "old soldiers" could not defeat the wolf-like Ming army.

These traitors and villains are ruining the country and the people, and they all deserve to be killed!

Unfortunately, this Duan Yu now doesn't know the Six Meridians Divine Sword or the Northern Divine Art. He doesn't even have the freedom to stay in the temple, and must return to the palace as the emperor, so as not to be caught by the sudden attack of the Ming army.

...

Lizhou, Sichuan.

A county has been established in the barbarian areas south of the Dadu River and is under the jurisdiction of Lizhou. The county seat is in the northeast of Yuexi County in later generations.

Troops were also sent there. Only two thousand Ming soldiers went south, and the rest of the army was barbarian soldiers.

The leader of the barbarian soldiers was Bai Qi's old lover Cun Aguo.

After besieging Jianchang Prefecture (Xichang) for many days, the defender Gao Yuchenghui was forced to surrender - that place was originally the territory seized by Gao Liangcheng. In order to gain Gao Yuchengsheng's support, Gao Zhenshou replaced the exercise (military position) of Jianchang Prefecture with Gao Yuchengsheng's son.

Further south, Gao Yuchengsheng's old nest Tongshifu was captured by Lin Chong and Gao Liangcheng.

But no prisoners were captured, and no money or grain was seized. Gao Yuchengsheng had already moved all his troops, clansmen, and property to Dali.

Bai Qi personally led the main force and successively conquered the prefectures and counties in the southeast of Dali.

More than ten days later, Bai Qi and Lin Chong, who were divided into two groups, collected various prefectures along the way and finally met up smoothly on the shore of Erhai Lake.

Gao Liangcheng took the initiative to help analyze the battle situation: "Dali City is adjacent to Erhai Lake in the east, Cangshan Mountain in the west, Longwei Pass in the south, and Longshou Pass in the north. If we have a large number of warships, we can cross Erhai Lake and take the city directly, but all the ships have been collected by Gao Yuchengsheng, and it is too late for us to build warships temporarily. Therefore, we must forcefully attack Longshou and Longwei Passes."

"The key to attacking these two passes is to occupy Cangshan Mountain first. There must be military camps on the mountain at this time, and those military camps must be forcefully attacked."

"Although Gao Yuchengsheng is the prime minister in the city, Gao Guanyinlong must also be very powerful. The two of them jointly steal the national government, and they will inevitably have grudges in the long run. Because Gao Guanyinlong is the eastern route Gao Yuchengsheng is a direct descendant of the Gao family, while Gao Yuchengsheng is a branch of the Gao family in the west. The two of them are mixed together purely for the sake of interests. "

"While attacking Cangshan, you can shoot letters to Longshou and Longwei Pass, claiming that we will only kill Gao Yuchengsheng, and if Gao Guanyinlong surrenders, we will definitely treat him well. This conspiracy of alienation will definitely make them mess up themselves."

"The prominent families here, such as the Dong family, Zhang family, and Yang family, also have private soldiers in the capital, and now they are all under the command of Gao Yuchengsheng. You can also shoot letters to let them surrender, so that Gao Yuchengsheng will suspect that everyone has betrayed him, and scare the generals of various surnames into surrendering..."

This is the role of the guide party. Gao Liangcheng is clear about the situation in Dali.

Bai Qi summoned all the generals to discuss and finally decided to divide the troops.

Lin Chong led his troops to the northern end of Erhai Lake and attacked Longshou Pass there.

Bai Qi went straight to the southern end of Erhai Lake and attacked Longwei Pass there.

"General, the enemy has another envoy asking for an audience."

"No, let him go, and order the king and ministers of Dali to surrender quickly."

The envoys of Dali Kingdom have come several times.

The first time was to request the cession of Shicheng County and Shanchan Prefecture to the Ming Dynasty in exchange for the withdrawal of Ming troops.

The second time, in addition to ceding Shicheng County and Shanchan Prefecture, Jianchang Prefecture and Dongchuan County were added.

The third time, Weichu Prefecture, Huichuan Prefecture and Zuining Prefecture were added.

I don't know what those guys in Dali City think. They still hold the fluke mentality of being able to negotiate, and are even willing to cede half of Dali's territory.

Just don't surrender!

Bai Qi took his personal soldiers and generals, as well as a group of Dali surrendered generals, and went to Longwei Pass to observe in person.

From Erhai Lake to Cangshan Mountain is a wall, extending eight miles wide.

At the westernmost part of Cangshan Mountain, there is another gate called Tiansheng Pass, and there is a valley leading to Tiansheng Pass. But both sides of the valley are heavily guarded, and the mountain must be captured before passing.

The mountain is high and the road is long. Bai Qi did not bring heavy artillery, and the heaviest field artillery in his hand was only a few hundred pounds.

If he wants to blow down the wall of the pass, he may have to waste time.

He carefully observed the pass for a while, and then approached Cangshan to observe the mountain stronghold with a telescope. The trees made it difficult to see clearly, and the information provided by the spies was not detailed. After all, military strongholds would not allow people to explore casually.

Those surrendered generals worked again, and jointly drew a schematic diagram, marking all the routes that were convenient for attacking the mountain.

On the first day, cut down trees and shoot letters to persuade surrender.

On the second day, cut down trees and shoot letters to persuade surrender.

On the third day...

Gao Yuchengsheng sent his son Gao Yuchengguang to lead the troops, as if he wanted to rely on Longwei Pass to defend it to the death.

In their opinion, Longwei Pass was impossible to break.

Gao Zhushou stood on the tower and observed for a long time, and said: "The enemy army has Gao Liangcheng as a guide, so they must attack the mountain first and then the pass. They are cutting trees to build siege equipment. Should we send troops out to destroy the equipment?"

"Sending troops out of the city may be difficult to achieve success." Gao Yuchengguang shook his head.

Gao Zhushou said: "The letters sent in these days have a great impact on morale. It is obviously a plot to alienate, but..."

They are all descendants of Gao Shengtai, and Gao Zhushou is Gao Yuchengguang's uncle in terms of seniority.

At this moment, Gao Guanyinlong, who is guarding Longshou Pass, is a descendant of Gao Shengxiang, and it is difficult for the two sides to pee in the same pot.

Gao Zhushou is also quite capable. His territory is in Lanping, Jianchuan, and Heqing. He brought several thousand soldiers to respond to the call to come to the king.

"Boom boom boom!"

Suddenly, the sound of artillery sounded, and the uncle and nephew stopped talking and picked up telescopes to observe the situation.

However, dozens of cannons of all sizes were fired one after another on the south bank of Erhai Lake, targeting the Dali warships that were patrolling in Erhai Lake.

Most of these warships were merchant ships that were temporarily recruited. Although their combat effectiveness was not very good, they just bullied the Ming army because they had no ships.

Gao Yuchengguang and Gao Zhushou did not think much about it. They thought that the Ming army was preparing to attack the pass and did not allow the warships to transport troops southward from the east side of the pass to harass.

After one warship was sunk and four warships were damaged by artillery, Gao Yuchengguang ordered all the warships to retreat three or four miles. Retreat to a place beyond the range of the Ming army's artillery, but you can kill at any time.

The next day, Gao Yuchengguang climbed the city again, and the situation in the southeast made him furious.

The Ming army was too much of a bully. They actually camped on the south bank of Erhai Lake and divided their troops to camp only two or three miles away from the east section of the pass wall!

This is simply not treating the defenders as human beings.

If it was Yang Zaixing who came to guard Longwei Pass, he would have gathered his troops and charged out at this moment.

Would Gao Yuchengguang dare to do that?

He didn't dare.

While the Ming army was camping nearby, they also built a mound across the Xi'er River, making the mound slightly higher than the city gate.

Then, they placed artillery pieces on the mound.

Attacking the mountain first as Gao Liangcheng suggested? It would be too troublesome, and the casualties would increase greatly.

Bai Qi wanted to attack the city gate directly!